


That Merry Still Goes Round

by voleuse



Category: Chuck (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-01-01
Updated: 2008-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-04 02:50:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voleuse/pseuds/voleuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>I never did get along with everybody else.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	That Merry Still Goes Round

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for the first episode. Title, summary, and headings adapted from "This River Is Wild" by The Killers.

_I heard a story from the man in red;   
he said the leaves are falling down._

 

The first time Devon met Ellie's little brother, he was passed out on the floor in front of Ellie's sofa, and frankly, he was a little surprised some tall dude wearing a tie was wandering around his new girlfriend's kitchen looking for coffee.

Not that he cared, really, that Ellie lived with some tall dude. Even if said tall dude was also kind of handsome, and singing the theme song to _Spider-man_\--the good one, not the lame one.

Devon stood up, shedding a blanket--courtesy of Ellie, he assumed--as he rose. "Hey."

"What the hell?" the tall dude in the tie yelped. Then he dropped his coffee mug. "Are home invasions supposed to be done naked now? Because that's something they never mentioned on the news."

"Oh, so you do live here." Devon considered that a moment, then bent to pick up the blanket. The tall dude made a weird noise, kind of like he was fighting whooping cough. Devon wrapped the blanket around his waist. "I'm Ellie's boyfriend, Devon." He extended a hand to the tall dude.

"Ellie's boyfriend?" The tall dude stared at Devon's hand for a moment, then shook his head. He reached out and gave Devon a surprisingly firm handshake, then wiped his palm against the front of his shirt. "Um. I'm Ellie's brother, Chuck."

"Her brother!" Devon clapped a hand to his forehead, which happened to have been the hand holding up the blanket. "Sorry, she mentioned you last night, and I forgot, what with all the--" He grinned. "Good to meet you, Chuck."

"Yeah," Chuck stammered, and he stared at the ceiling. "Awesome."

_But you always hold your head up high,   
'cause it's a long, long, long way down._

The thing is, Devon liked Chuck a lot more than he expected, given that he was formerly a Stanford man and all.

("It's a sore spot," Ellie had whispered to him over dinner. "Try not to mention it." She was a little late with that advice, and Devon had to challenge Chuck to a five-hour round of _World of Warcraft_ to make up for it. Not that he minded, even though he got his ass soundly kicked. It was the way Chuck looked at him before Devon found out, like Devon had deliberately ripped out Chuck's appendix just for fun, instead of to prevent a catastrophic inflammation.)

It's cool to get along with your girfriend's little brother, Devon's buddies assured him. _After_ you're part of the family.

But Devon already knew, even then--he loved his family, but he wanted to be part of Ellie's, too. And if that meant he got to hang with Chuck?

Even better.

_I've been trying hard to do what's right,   
but you know I could stay here all night   
and watch the clouds fall from the sky._

 

Morgan was a weird little dude, and Ellie could never explain, really, why he was always at the apartment. Or why he kept staring at Ellie like she was the best thing that existed.

Okay, maybe Devon didn't need a thorough explanation of that, because Ellie pretty much was the best thing that existed. That did not, however, explain why Morgan was Chuck's best friend.

Then one night, Ellie was called in to cover Brianne's shift, even though it was her night off. ("I have to," she apologized, pulling on her scrubs, her jacket, her sneakers. "Her girlfriend is having a baby, you know that." Devon wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the forehead. "I know that.") After taking a quick shower, Devon wandered into the living room and found Chuck and Morgan sprawled on the sofa, drinking light beer and watching _Mystery Science Theater 3000_.

"Of course it makes sense," Morgan was arguing. "She's a cavewoman."

Chuck threw his arms up. "And the dude is a robot! Robots are not compatible with human beings!"

"Dudes." Devon grabbed a real beer out of the fridge, then hopped over the back of the sofa.

Chuck shifted closer to the center and nodded. "Awesome."

"Awesome, back me up," Morgan said, leaning across Chuck's lap. "Robots can totally be attracted to human beings, right?"

"Depends on the robot," Devon decided. "If it has the right parts."

"AHA!" Chuck shouted. "The purpose of the robot is to critique, not lust."

Morgan rolled his eyes. "What, like it has some sort of specific directive against human relations?" He leered at the movie screen within the television set. "If you know what I'm sayin'."

"Yes, Morgan," Chuck said. "I think we know what you're saying." Then he grinned at Devon and held his beer up.

Devon laughed, and clinked the bottles together.

_Sometimes I'm nervous when I talk--  
I shake a little.   
Sometimes I hate the line I walk._

 

The morning after they found out about Chuck's old friend, Bryce, Ellie wrapped her arms around Devon's waist and asked him how to mourn.

("Ellie," Devon said, and she tilted her head against his shoulder. "I know," she replied. "But Chuck's a guy. Don't guys need other guys, sometimes?" Devon opened his mouth, but she cut in. "Morgan doesn't count." Devon cleared his throat and nodded, and he kissed the top of her head.)

After the funeral, Devon found Chuck staring at the television set, a grape soda in his hand. The television was off. Chuck's hand was shaking, but Devon could only tell because of the stuttering hiss of the carbonation.

"Do you want to get a beer?" Devon asked. He didn't clap his hand against Chuck's shoulder, like he wanted. He figured Chuck might startle. "Maybe some nachos?"

"No," Chuck said. "I mean, as much as getting drunk sounds really, really, _really_ good right now, it's probably a bad idea." He paused, took a swig from the his can. "I mean, it is. A bad idea. And anything remotely spicy might make me vomit right now. Which is pathetic, I know, but--"

"No beer, no nachos. Gotcha." Devon thought that over.

Chuck looked up at him, his smile absent and insincere. "Have a seat, Awesome. No reason for everybody to be uncomfortable."

Devon sat, propping his arm against the back of the sofa.

They sat there for a while, everything silent, except for the faint chatter of Ellie, talking to Brianne on the phone behind the closed door of their bedroom.

"So."

"So."

Devon cleared his throat. "This seems like a good time to watch some Jedi."

"Yeah." Chuck's laugh was sudden, almost a sob. "Maybe not the classic ones, though."

Devon stood up, pointed his right hand at Chuck like a blaster. "Crappy it is. You get the movie, I get the popcorn?"

"Yeah," Chuck said again. "Sounds good." He stood, started that slow jog of his down the hallway, then stopped. "Awesome?"

"Yo?" Devon paused on the way to the kitchen.

"Thanks."

Devon smiled. "Any time, man. Any time at all."


End file.
